The Blog>How to Choose the Best Ecommerce Website Builder to Sell Online

How to Choose the Best Ecommerce Website Builder to Sell Online

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Anyone who has lived with aseamster/ess, quilter, crafter, orother artisan knows that thepandemic was adangerous combination: isolation, Amazon Prime, andfidgeting. People who had never thought todoanything creative orartistic learned new skills orcrafts topass thetime, follow apassion, orboth. Tomake matters worse, thecraft shows andflea markets where such products are sold closed forthe2020season, leading more people tolearn how tosell online.

Imagine aknitter inacozy chair, slowly being swallowed byasea ofhalf-finished, completed, andplanned projects. Oraliterature professor working remotely, risking concussion inching through stacks ofread anddiscarded books. How will they dig themselves out?

How tosell online
Tips from e-commerce experts forsmall business owners andaspiring entrepreneurs.
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People generally assume that learning how tosell online will bedifficult andtime-consuming, but with theright Ecommerce website builder you should beable tostart right away, andwith little ornoinvestment. Here’s what tolook for, andhow tochoose thebest Ecommerce platform foryour goods.

Ecommerce Website Builders Should Have These Features:

When you hear “Ecommerce website builders,” your mind probably jumps totemplates oreasy point-and-click design tools. But theright method foryou tostart selling online quickly should bemore than atool inwhich topaste your content. Here’s abreakdown ofwhat you need toconsider toget started selling products online.

1.Code provided, nocoding necessary, orcoding asneeded

Templates are just thetip oftheiceberg when itcomes tosetting upyour online store. Ifyou don’t have anytraining inwebsites orecommerce atall, you’re going toneed anoption that removes all theguesswork. Ontheother hand, ifyou’ve been trained tocode andjust want totake some shortcuts, you want tohave thefreedom ofmanipulating thecode atwill.

Either way, you’re going toneed tobeable tosell products online across platforms, using social media andother successful online marketplaces. You should beable tomanage your inventory andproducts across all ofyour online storefronts.

2.Isthewebsite builder easy touse?

You may know that most website builders come with convenient drag-and-drop technology. Everyone prefers e-commerce website builders that are simple touse. This iswhy most platforms are abreeze tooperate. However, itisworth noting that ease ofuse isusually aspectrum dictated byboth resources andexperience.

Ideally, ane-commerce website builder should besimple touse fornon-tech-savvy users. While thebest e-commerce website builders donot require coding knowledge, different website builders may have different levels ofease ofuse.

Inmost cases, you should choose one with adrag-and-drop function aswell asanintuitive editor. This will make iteasier tocustomize thevarious elements onyour site. Also, you may consider extra options, such asinline editing.

You should choose aconvenient platform that iswell-known forits intuitive andstraightforward website editor, soyou donot have tospend plenty oftime trying tounderstand how itworks.

3.Ease ofmanaging inventory

Especially inthecase ofacrafter-turned-entrepreneur, managing inventory can beachallenge. Your offerings will vary day byday, season byseason. Being able tomanage inventory asitbecomes available isvital. You should also beable toadjust your inventory manually toallow forin-person sales atcraft shows, etc.

4.Price scaling asneeded with notransaction fees

Ifyou are just starting out, gradually ramping upoperations, orlooking atonly seasonal sales, you should look foroptions scaled toyour needs. Don’t pay thesame price tosell 10products tosell online per month asyou would tosell 100items per month. Instead, find flexible online selling options that allow you tostart small andscale services togrow your business.

You should also look foroptions that are subscription-based rather than transaction-based. Some platforms promote scalability bycharging atransaction fee with each processed order. While this sounds good forjust afew transactions per month, these fees add upfast assales increase.

5.Flexibility tochange plans asyour needs fluctuate

Don’t let Ecommerce platforms push you into paying formore than you need. Atthesame time, don’t get yourself stuck inapackage that doesn’t make sense long term. Ifyou typically have seasonal spikes inofferings, having aplatform that allows you toscale back during theoff-season can save you hundreds.

Common options forpayment processing

Always remember that ifitisnot simple foryour online shoppers topay foryour product orservice, you will not besuccessful inthelong run. You may know that PayPal, Apple Pay, Square, andStripe are some ofthepopular payment gateways foramajority ofe-commerce stores.

So, make sure that you consider what types ofpayment you are willing toaccept when searching fortheright ecommerce website builder.

When itcomes towebsite builders, there are many options out there. This iswhy itisvital tofind thefeatures that you would like tohave andthen gofrom there. Use this guide toevaluate thee-commerce platform you are considering andavoid thevarious pitfalls many brands make when selecting software. Note that itisnot only about developing your e-commerce site, but also about functionality.

Choose payment processors that make sense both foryou andyour customers.

6.Isthewebsite builder secure?

Inthis digital age, security isone ofthepivotal issues, andyou should consider itwith extreme care. Asonline business isavirtual interface, note that trust isanimportant consideration foryour customers. Did you know that purchasers prefer secure andsafe payment options asthey have toshare sensitive information, such asbank details?

This iswhy you should ensure that your e-commerce website builder isPCI compliant. Also, note that choosing aweb-based tool with integrated SSL encryption isnow essential toguarantee security.

7.Does theecommerce website builder integrate with marketing tools?

Inthis competitive environment, website marketingis important forthegrowth ǴԲ-dzܲԱ. This iswhy you Ա-ٴ-ܲٴǴDZ forpromoting andmarketing your business andwebsite.

The -dzɱٱ builders will help you with marketing. Keep inmind that this could bedone through optimizing your website andcontent forSEO andallowing orfacilitating theintegration Ǵdzܲٳ󾱰-貹ٲپԲ tools, such asGoogle Ads. For example, can you launch your online store right now andstartselling onInstagramǰDz?

So, ensure that ٳ-dzɱٱ platform that you choose offers robust andeffective tools orintegrates seamlessly with other marketing platforms that match your strategy andchannel needs.

8.Widgets andadd-ons

You should also check ifthee-commerce website builder you are considering has anapp store. This isbecause you may need various widgets inorder tocustomize your page. Also, make sure that you can connect custom domains andanythird-party services.

9.Product reviews andratings

Ifyou are anonline customer, you will know that many customers trust products based onexperience shared byother customers. So, product ratings andreviews, which were initially considered anadd-on feature, have now become anecessity.

This iswhy thefacility ofproduct ratings andreviews isone ofthekey features that your online store builder must have.

10. Third-party integrations

This isanother critical consideration. Itisbest tolook forane-commerce platform that integrates with theother systems that you use. Ifyou would like tolaunch anonline shop, you’ll need extra services, such aspayment gateways, shopping cart functionality, tax calculation services, promotion tools, andreporting instruments. The best e-commerce website builder will becompatible with major services.

11. Easy checkout process

Did you know that more than 55percent ofusers leave awebsite atthecart? And this issimply because thecheckout process isoften complicated andlengthy. So, when choosing ane-commerce website builder, you should see whether itprovides asimple andhassle-free checkout process. Some website builders give you theoption tocustomize thecheckout process.

Keep inmind that thebest checkout pages often include anorder summary. This iswhere you just ask fortheessential information from users tomake payment. You should see ifthewebsite builder offers several payment methods forquicker checkout.

How toChoose theBest Ecommerce Platform

Learning how tosell online quickly ishalf thebattle, but your Ecommerce platform should offer more than just some fancy industry-specific website templates. Consider what tasks orservices you can handle yourself, then consider which ones you are actually willing totake on. Look foraplatform that meets theremaining needs.

You can also use thefollowing tips toresearch different Ecommerce platforms.

Find alist offeatures tocompare plans andplatforms

The best Ecommerce services are very straightforward about what their offerings provide. You should beable tofind alist offeatures foreach specific plan orservice option. You should use achart tocompare plans within andacross platforms, but thebest sites also have comparison charts tosummarize their own offerings.

Search online forreal reviews byreal people

It’s hard toknow ifareview isunbiased. Most ofthewebsites that offer comprehensive reviews ofproducts online are paid tomention specific Ecommerce platforms. Unfortunately, they are also themost easily found.

You can still get first-hand experiences through these websites. Scroll down tothebottom ofthepage, andyou’ll likely find reader comments. This isyour best chance tosee real reviews byreal people foranyweb-based service platform.

Check out their demo

Ifyou’ve been thinking about how tosell online forawhile, you probably already have anidea ofhow you want toset upyour online store. Not every platform will meet theneeds ofyour Ecommerce business oryour ideal foronline selling. Before jumping onto aplatform based solely onreviews, check out ademo oftheir basic services. Besure itisagood fit before you spend alot oftime andeffort trying tomake itwork.

Look forthebest experience foryour customers

Look forreviews from customers using these Ecommerce platforms tocheckout. Make sure that theoption you choose makes iteasy foryour customers tobrowse, order, andpay fortheir goods. The three main areas toconsider are:

Aslong asyour site hits these three points andprovides honest andaccurate descriptions, your customers will behappy buying your products online.

Ecommerce Website Building Platforms onthecloud

For thesimplest Իڲٱ-dzɱٱ design experience, head tothecloud. Dozens ofwebsite builders have appeared inrecent years, soyou have plenty ofoptions tochoose from. Afew ofthemost popular andlow cost platforms ڴǰ-dzɱٱ ,Wix, SquareSpaceԻDZ辱ڲ.

1.They’re (almost) free and(always) easy

Website builders aim foraconsistent andbeautiful user experience. The builder takes care ofthecode andhosting ofyour site; you just add content andplugins tocreate your ܲٴdz-dzٴǰ.±, -dzܲԻܾ, Ի¾, ڰ-ڴǰܾ, are both geared towards beginners who have noweb design experience. They offer free website hosting forlimited features andbranded domains; going premium affords you custom domain names andadditional features atalow cost.

2.Pick from dozens ǴԲ— ǰٱ

The beauty ofweb builders istheir flexibility andsimplicity. There are nosurprises ԻԴǻ— web builders are called WYSIWYGs for“what you see iswhat you get.” Don’t want toworry about perfecting thedesign ڴǰdzܰ-dzɱٱ? — it’s all been taken care offoryou. With hundreds ofoptions, it’s easy tofind theperfect theme ڴǰdzܰ-dzɱٱ design andtailor ittofit your brand.

IfHTML/CSS andgraphic design isyour jam, let thethemes beyour guide. Weebly andSquareSpace allow access ٴٳڰDzԳ-Իǻ, soyou can make changes asyou wish. And while you can’t change anycode inWix, there are nolimits toyour visual — add transitions anddynamic elements tocreate acool ԻDzԳٱ𳾱ǰ-dzɱٱ experience.

SquareSpaceisabuilder with famously clean yet customizable designs, all crafted with themobile experience inmind. Ifyou’re anAdobedesign devotee, Muse may beright foryou. There isnocoding required touse their beautiful responsive designs, but you retain all thecreative control.

Platforms requiring you todownload andhost

Ifyou’re looking foranecommerce website with more functionality anddon’t mind alittle extra work, consider using acontent management system dzܰ-dzɱٱ builder. Content management systems like,Իare hugely popular with everyone from novice bloggers toexpert web developers.

1.They really are free… but not always soeasy

Many content management systems are open source, meaning anyone can access anduse theplatform tomake apowerful ԻDzܲ-dzɱٱ forfree. Unlike cloud web builders, you download theplatform andset ituponyour computer, then you must find andpay forahosting provider anddomain name. TryWordPressԻits ڲdzܲھ-ԳܳٱԲٲ, oruse ahosting provider todoall thesetup foryou. Itmay take alittle more work toinstall, but thepayoff ofusing these platforms can behuge.

2.Help isalways there

Platforms likeDrupalԻJoomlaare used bypeople all over theworld tobuild millions ofwebsites, sothepower ofcommunity isonyour side. Ifyou need tech support, you have access toendless video tutorials, forums ԻǷ-ٴپ tohelp you solve anyproblem you may encounter.

What ifyou decide you want thefunctionality without theresponsibility? Noproblem. Developers all around theworld are experienced with these platforms; it’s easy tofind someone tobuild andmaintain your website foryou. You’re never without help.

3.The possibilities are endless

Thanks ٴDZ-dzܰDzԳٰܳٴǰ, WordPress, Joomla, andDrupal websites can bemade todojust about anything. Choose from thousands offree orpaid plugins, themes, anddesigns tomake your website stand out.

Nuts andbolts

When choosing dzܰ-dzɱٱ builder, make sure toplan forthegrowth ofyour business. How much can you afford topay foryour website design, subscription, hosting, anddomain? Doyou need asimple, clean design that asite builder can manage? How much doyou plan ڴǰdzܰ-dzٴǰ togrow? Larger websites with additional features may find that WordPress andJoomla towork well forthem. Smaller dzܳپܱ-dzDZ might find that Weebly orWix are abetter fit.

All ofthese site builders andcontent management systems work perfectly with . Many platforms offer their own ٱ-dzDZپDzԲ, often forahigher monthly rate andadditional transaction fees. But nothing compares tothepower of’s simple Իdz貹پ-dzܲԲ. They offer boundless customization options, secure transactions, Իڱ𲹳ٳܰ-ǻܳ management dashboard. Best ofall, isfree touse, anditoffers additional features ataffordable pricing that scales tothesize ofyour store.

With , you can achieve thebest ofboth worlds ڴǰdzܰ-dzٱ atamuch lower cost.

Key Takeaways

When you’re ready tostart selling products online, theright Ecommerce website builder andplatform can make all thedifference. Torecap, here are themost important things tolook forwhen you’re getting started:

Ifyou still have questions about how tosell online with theright platform foryour individual needs, you should feel free toreach out tothesales team foranswers. Well-run Ecommerce platforms staff knowledgeable representatives ready toanswer anyquestions before you make apurchase decision. Weare nodifferent. Ifyou’re still not sure that weare theright solution foryou, reach out toour sales support team.

Start selling on your website